What
is this conference about?
The TM Conference is a Friday night and all day
Saturday gathering that will offer a unique opportunity
for students (high school and college age) to hear
from gifted evangelical speakers on the subject
of why Christianity is sound, practical, utterly
reasonable and uniquely true. When the world knows
you are a follower of Jesus you are bound to get
questions. The Bible says that each of us should
be able to “give an answer to everyone that
asks us to give the reason for the hope that we
have” (1 Pet. 3:15), so we all need to be
prepared. That’s what apologetics is all about;
apologetics deals with thinking through the Christian
faith and giving an answer back to those who are
asking or doubting.

Conference talks will explore puzzling issues
like:
• Is truth ‘true' for everyone, or is
it just a personal thing?
• How do we know that we can trust the Bible?
• Are Christians arrogant to think that Jesus
is the only way to God?
• Why does a good God allow so much evil?
• Is science at odds with Biblical faith,
and what is the intelligent design movement?
• Sexual integrity in our hyper-sexualized
culture.
• How do we respond on difficult topics like
homosexuality, abortion, and Islam?

How
is an apologetics conference different from other
youth conferences?
This conference will focus on some of the most often
asked questions about and objections to Christianity,
and will give students solid answers. Participants
will leave feeling more secure in the trustworthiness
of the historic Christian faith, and will, in turn,
be more confident to dialogue about it with non-believers.

Why
do young Christians need to learn apologetics?
Startling results from studies by the Barna Group
and Lifeway Research now tell us that nearly 3 out
of 4 church-attending protestant youths will drop
out of church in the years following high school.
One of the major factors cited for this is an intellectual
skepticism that can develop, particularly in the
often religiously hostile university setting. Teens
may come to realize that they have not carefully
thought through what they say they believe. They
cannot explain, for example, why the New Testament
is believable, why it is not intolerant to assert
that Christianity is distinctively true, or even
how we can be certain that God exists. Most young
Christians today are not equipped intellectually
to stand firm in their faith, and they need to be.

The
truth is that every believer already does apologetics;
the question is really, do we want to do it poorly
or well? We all get questioned or challenged about
our faith. We can respond by saying “You just
have to believe” or “That’s just
the mystery of God,” but when we do, we are
essentially telling the questioner that his inquiry
is not worthy of our time or energy. Apologetics
does not replace evangelism; it paves the way for
it. It can remove intellectual roadblocks that prevent
someone from seriously considering the gospel.

The
God of the Bible asks us to love Him with our minds
as well as our hearts (Matt. 22:37). This means
learning to reason and think well. It means using
our minds to grasp the marvelous truths God has
revealed about Himself in both Scripture and creation.
It has been said that, in the Christian life, faith
and reason are like the two wings of a bird working
together. Understanding how Christianity is reasonable
and sound encourages and strengthens our personal
faith, and it emboldens us in witnessing.

Is
the Conference only for youth?
No…adults are absolutely welcome, and we hope
many attend! Talks will be geared toward high school
and college aged students, but topics will be pertinent
and instructive to any person wanting to better
understand the intellectual soundness of the faith
and be better prepared to answer tough questions
about it. The TM Conference will be of especially
beneficial to parents and those working in teaching
positions and youth ministry.

What
are Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES) and TEAM?
SES is a conservative independent seminary outside
of Charlotte, NC that specializes in training believers
to explain and defend the truth of Christianity.
SES was recently voted “Best General Apologetics”
program in America for a graduate degree by bestschools.org.
Several TM Conference workshop speakers are seminary
alumni who work through a ministry arm of SES called
TEAM (Truth, Evangelism and Apologetics Mission).
TEAM members travel nationally and internationally
speaking, teaching and debating for the truth of
the faith. For more information on SES or TEAM go
to www.ses.edu.